ABSTRACT
As noted in the introduction, a changing labour market meant that several labour market issues had been on the agenda during the 1990s. Some of these issues were resolved, whilst others remained unresolved or were stilI under deliberation. This thesis has represented an issue that was eventually resolved and consequently represents a form of labour market consensus building. The aim of this concluding chapter is to discuss the possible side effects of such a form of consensus building. Three different levels of consensus have been used. The first level, or basic consensus, was reflected in the large coalition governments, in the absence of ideological polarisation between political parties, in the less intense conflicts between producer and consumer interests and in the broad-based incomes policy settlements. The second level, or procedural consensus, was reflected in the abolition of minority veto in parliament, in the increase in parliamentary power at the cost of the president's power, as well as in the labour market rules agreed in the broad-based settlements. The main focus in this thesis has been the third level, or policy consensus, represented by the working hours case.
